End of My World
by Aiko Isari
Summary: To become an adult means to accept reality. To become a hero means to define reality. To be a child means to defy reality. On a journey to understand a parallel world, these are the paths waiting for Watanabe Norio and his friends. Is this what growing up feels like?
1. Prologue

**Prologue: The Children and the Demons**

In another world, in a world parallel to our own, a building exploded. To be precise, it was a castle, and boy, did it _burn._ The castle was stone and Digizoid and the fire was visible miles and miles away once it got that high. It woke the sleeping peasants, and filled them with dread. That castle was meant to be closed off, to never be touched by any but the ancient. And now the seal on it was broken. Were they all going to die? After many years of peace and all of that, would the creatures locked inside, the monsters who were supposed to have died in there, going to get out?

Well, if they were dead, those were stupid questions. However, common sense said they were alive. Dead one wouldn't make such wild noises once a year. They wouldn't spread a fire.

The few citizens, old and superstitious, were prepared to flee. However, instead of monsters razing the farmland, the small set of guards stationed farther away made it there. They aimed to put out the flames and return the gaggle of prisoners. However, the prisoners were nowhere to be found. They almost were presumed dead.

Almost.

Someone happened to see the little sparks of grey and black inside one of the cells.

* * *

My name is Akira. Don't worry, I won't be here long. I'm just dropping off a few things. Who am I? I'm just an observer. I used to be involved but things kinda happened. Like, you know how you go into something thinking you've got it all handled, and it goes real great at first, but then it's all over after that? That's kinda what happened with us. I know, that's vague, but this isn't my story. It's theirs. Let me show you them, and then I'll get out of the way, and let them tell the rest.

I want to tell you everything, believe me. But that would be more energy than I have to spare right now. Find out with them, okay?

The first place I stopped was a small apartment. A pair of siblings unpack their rooms. They're screwed. Too foreign, too fair haired, too unsuited to the size of the place they live.

That said, they still smile when their sister checks on them, and act like nothing is wrong. They've always done that, it's a bad habit, kids, don't do it. Be honest.

"Dinner will be soon," I heard the oldest say. "You can finish in the morning, can't you?"

They mumbled assent like good little kids, and as they left, I slipped the calling card out of sight. They'll find it in the morning, when they're not exhausted and only terrified.

This is the only way we can make things right for everyone.

Even if one doesn't remember, she may someday. She will be called again. The Digital World is stubborn and stupid.

* * *

The next place was inside of an old room, in an apartment that seemed too small for three people. Inside, a kid sat and drew, colors covered with a misty film of dust. He was little, fragile in appearance, but he sat with a calm to his young face and works. Heh. He's a good kid. He's always known what he wants. Steady hands rubbed the charcoal into the paper, toyed with the pastels strewn about the carpet.

It was almost like someone lived in this room.

I know otherwise. It's my fault. Well, sort of.

Once in a while, he would raise the sketchbook and look around in silence, expecting some sort of comment. I want to answer him, to tell him the picture is beautiful. But he can't hear me and I dunno if he ever will.

So I left my answer under his bed pillow, and hope he's going to find it.

* * *

A girl ran up the stairs for the second time that night, driven from a place she doesn't know if she wants to be in anyway. These nights, they happen at least once a week. The others are against her. I say, if we're going to pick people, we may as well pick her, if no one else will. Just have to be careful. If she sees, she won't go. Smart kid.

I hope she'll go as much as I wish she'd stay away. Finding yourself was something you had to do when you weren't at home to be told what to do.

Then again, she ignores the rules anyway.

* * *

She was such a tiny thing, this next one in her bed. She'd been squashed by things that don't belong to her. It was like she was born for her part. Well, she probably was. I wanted to tug her in, tuck her away, because the littlest ones have the best luck at the beginning. But I can't. She was being watched, like a lamb for the slaughter. I've never liked lambs.

We will try to save you. We will try. They will try. Kids protect their own.

Maybe I'd get lucky, and she could save herself.

I saw her eyes open, and she looked at me, or towards me. Either way, the sensation was uncomfortable. I didn't move. We just stared at each other, as much as we could, and then she shut her eyes again.

Just in case she'd look again, I kept moving. The less the old man sensed of me, the better.

* * *

This one wasn't our decision, but well, it's probably a good thing. She was crazy enough for it to not matter.

She didn't walk, she sauntered. Her head was always held high, her steps brisk. The beautiful suite was too bright, her servants often squinted. She didn't lack fear, not of the ruler to her wrists or the possibility of bruises I can't see. What she lacked was a challenge.

My friends appreciated the stupidity, at least a couple of them.

Hopefully however she got involved would give her that challenge. We had enough troublemakers running around.

* * *

The last sat in his empty house. He practiced smiling in the mirror, cooking rice for two when there was currently only one, playing with meat spices and scratching at homework he didn't understand. I know this kid a bit. He'd never been good with the standards of education. Yet there he was. preparing for the tests. Or trying to study for them when he has no dreams. I envied that and pitied it. All things considered, I can't tell what's worse.

When the phone rang, he ignored it. When there was a knock at the door, he jumped to it. The present, not the past. Thank god.

"Guys!" His voice had always been loud, but with people it seemed to come from a stereo system.

The other boy, old and young at the same time, danced in first because as far as I can tell, walking was too mainstream for him. He's a good kid, if that means anything to you. It meant a lot to me.

I picked the boys when I saw them. They were perfect fits, better than I could ask for.

The girl who joined them was nearly a woman, and her steps proved it. She walked with murder in her eyes, whether she meant it or not. I knew I shouldn't linger, not with the last two in view, but I couldn't help it. I wanted her to see me. I wanted her to call my name, I wanted her to run over and hug me and lose those circles under her eyes.

I waited for her to look, for her to even glance in my direction.

For a second, I thought she would. Then, kilometers away, something exploded into flames. It caught her gaze. It caught the gaze of all of the children. Blue fire, sparks of white. In that moment, I hurried away and turned my back again.

I've always hated seeing laughter turn to tears, but right now, I don't think I have a choice. Like I said, we screwed up, and we can't make up for it anymore than we already have.

But there was one place left, I couldn't succumb just yet.

* * *

The demon walked through a palace made of crystal.

Crystal was perhaps an understatement. Perhaps they were more like inverted mirrors. Translucent, serene, darkness rippled through each side like a pool of disrupted water, the changes moving without touch. A child's face flickered into each facet, the jagged sides warping the gentle features into cold, high cheekbones and eyes the color of mud.

I'd dropped her enough times to know not to look at them.

The demon paced, claws clacking against the ground. His many eyes shut and opened as he breathed. The mouths on his body slobbered and snapped as though there were flies to devour.

He was angry. That was fine. He couldn't hit me, though he'd tried a lot.

"So little time spent," he finally said. "The worlds have waited eons for you to run out of steam, little maggots. And now, now, in your last ditch efforts to _linger_ , you do this!"

Yes, humans were fast learners. Our hourglasses were smaller.

He screamed these words, the hissing howl full of laughter. "Oh, you humans! You sweet, stubborn, beautiful animals. I love you so. I wish my time had not passed with so few skirmishes before. Very well, my children. Very well, _play_. I enjoy a good game, as you well know."

I wished I had a chair, or something to throw at the gargantuan. Then again, that wouldn't be right. I was dealing with a gentleman, or something like that.

He stalked to a window, the acidic drool from the canine mouths dissipating into the air. Looking out over the endless sea around him, he smiled all the wider.

"Play with me, and I promise a game that will stretch your paltry imaginations."

I allowed myself to smile, to be a bit cocky again. It'd been a while. "All right then," I said, and I knew he could hear me. Considering what he had done, there was no way he couldn't. "Let's get started."

* * *

People say time flows like a steady stream. People say that if we don't slow down, we'll lose all of it, and people say if we go too slow, it will run away from us.

I wonder if that really matters. We have what we have, and we shouldn't waste it. For those like me, though, it's already too late.

All we can do is watch from here, and hope. We have to pray we're giving these kids enough because we didn't get that.

Well then, I should go, before I get yelled at. Good luck with these guys. They're a handful.

* * *

 _ **A/N:**_ Okay, I'm going to stop editing now. I'm going to stop rewriting sentences and fretting and whatever else it is I do over this fic. Do you guys remember Crimson Crossroads? I hope not; it was terrible. I'm going to hope and pray that this one is better. I like it anyway. Please let me know what you think!

 **Challenges:** Advent Calendar Challenge day 20: write about anything, and Lego Cabin Challenge.


	2. Chapter 1

_**Chapter One: A Storm of Fire**_

The crater sloped upward in the remnants of the closed factory, smoke radiating off of the walls in fading wisps. The creatures slowly unwound themselves from their pile of limbs and wings and tails. One brandished a gun to get them moving faster, eyes agitated. His whole body twitched with the idea of getting out of open ground, but the only other one who would dare agree with him on anything was at the bottom of the pile like the self-sacrificing dipwad he was. The dragon wanted to scoff. He was a soldier and he wasn't that stupid.

"Dudes… it _worked_." The other dragon, green and red and with eyes that drooped like a student during every final week of school, let out a drawl of a laugh. "Explosions _do_ make everything better, huh?"

Another creature smacked his head with a wing."Dracomon, shut _up_. You're going to get us caught."

Dracomon snorted smoke. "But it worked so we're gonna get caught any whichaways, man. Chillax."

"Why did we bring him again?" grumbled the creature at the bottom of the pile. "I still think we could have left him tied to two of the bars and let him find his own way."

Another snort, causing the dragon to exhale a puff of smoke. "Cause _I_ got the sniffer, and _I've_ got the goods."

A sigh. "Liollmon, just hit him. We can drag him the rest of the way."

Liollmon made to swipe but the dragon dodged, pouting at the rabbit currently perched on a nearby piece of metal. "Aw don't be like that, Bunnicula."

"What is that a reference for _now_?" muttered the creature, scratching at one of its oversized ears.

" _Bunnicula_ , obviously." He huffed. "Geez, get your references man."

Liollmon adjusted his stance. "One moment. I'll get him this time."

The dragon yelped. "That smarts!"

"... He actually said that out loud."

"Come on, let's get moving." The last voice let out a whine of exhaustion. "We need to find a safe space before the humans spot us and I wanna sleep!"

No one could really argue with that, especially at the sound of a broken, mechanical wail, a sound they had never heard before.

They didn't know what that sound was, but when it started to echo, they bolted.

* * *

"Aw, _damn it_!" Watanabe Norio threw his controller onto the carpet. "Dead again. Damn you, senpai." He mussed up his black hair as he rolled on the carpet."I was so _close_ to that combo!"

"Shoulda mashed the buttons faster, Nori-chan," the other male sang, spitting out strands of auburn hair. He was upside down on the couch, legs dangling over its back. "Dunno why you bother though, I'm the best at these games."

Norio let out a harrumph. "Yeah, _now_. Cause you and Kiri-nee get to play together all of the time. I'm _still_ stuck with cram school." He grunted. "Could beat ya with mah eyes closed before!"

"The cram school is doing you some good, Nori-kun," hummed a voice from his tiny kitchen. "Thank you for leaving some rice in the cooker by the way. Makes this much easier."

Norio grinned, perking up before he could stop himself. "Sure!" He made himself sit up. "Kiri-nee, you wanna play? My hands hurt."

"You just wanna see me get my ass kicked," Sean muttered, moving himself to sit properly on the couch.

Kiri let out a giggle and slipped beside him. "You should never let a relationship dictate your role in life, Sean."

Sean huffed and cracked his knuckles, shaking his wrists. "Hardly how it works Kiri, you're just good at shooters."

"Is that your excuse now?"

Norio snickered, going to get another game from his room. Sean would probably break the screen with his controller if he didn't. Not that he wouldn't do the same thing. Kiri was _merciless_ at this game.

Well, okay, she was merciless at _all_ video games. Sean just had even less of an advantage at this one. He switched on the light to his mess of a room, scanning his shelves for something multiplayer. "Damn, I need new games... maybe Hana-chan's brother has got some..." Like she'd let him ask. Hana was a great chick, just worse than a rosebush. He never knew the girl not to scowl. Or maybe that was just because he kept poking her. Eh, it was fun. Still, she wouldn't even let him come over and lend her homework anymore! What was her deal? Her new family was cool!

He pulled a game from the shelf and toppled backwards from the recoil of three others falling on him. "Damn it! My bad…"

"You break something in there?" Sean shouted from the couch.

"Jus' my pride man, I'll be out there in a sec!" Norio rubbed his head, ignoring the sound of Sean's amused, but slightly derisive, cackling. Why was he friends with these guys again? Oh wait, silly question. Because they were fun. And so was he, the top man on his own stage! What more could a guy want?

Aside from world peace, obviously.

As he thought this, he scanned his room. There was something he was supposed to give to Kiri-nee before they left today… where did he put it? He had put a sticky note on it and everything. His fingers scanned the floor, because everything tended to fall there. Books loved it there the most when their spines broke. yes he could read, how dare you insinuate otherwise?

"Ya know," he said to the empty room. "This would be a lot better with a light." As he spoke, a light burst from beneath his pillow, brightening up the room and allowing Norio to spot what he was looking for. "Thank you spotlight," he muttered to himself. Then he paused. "Wa-ait a second." He dove for his pillow, yanking out a strange device. It was like a disc with a screen on it. It began to shrivel and morph in his palm, becoming a wristband.

"Is this a fitbit?" he asked himself as words scrawled across the much smaller screen.

 _"Dragon's Quest download complete."_

That was a video game or something, right?

He shrugged and pocketed it. Norio figured he probably got it at a toy store or something and forgot about it. He did that sometimes. Though he never knew a tory to transform without a human moving it first. he'd just figure it out later.

Leaving his room, he returned to the living room and groaned. "Guys this is my apartment!"

Sean sat up and grinned. "well, we figured you were busy in there." At least Kiriko had the decency to look embarrassed, failing to rub the pink from her cheeks.

"Not doing anything inappropriate," Norio retorted, ignoring the curling nausea in his gut. He was too cool to be going after his best friend's girlfriend, especially not after how much they had helped him out.

Sean laughed and poked him in the ribs. Damn foreigner with his culture shock. "I knew it was too quiet over there."

Norio elbowed him back. "Oh shut up."

Kiriko let out a giggle. "Sorry, Nori-kun. We'll avoid it next time."

"Or you could ask Hana-chan on a date like a smart person," Sean deadpanned, picking up the controller and starting to play again.

Norio stared at him. "Bro, why would I do that?"

Sean let out a theatrical sigh. " _Boys_ ," he scoffed, looking exasperated.

"You are a boy!"

* * *

Dracomon decided in the span of a few minutes of flying, that human world air kind of sucked. It was as thick and heavy as the occasional city area, probably more so. and there were no data streams to sniff! What was the point of living here? Well, okay to be fair, humans did not sniff the data streams so maybe it wouldn't be important to them like it was to him. Though why wouldn't they?

This was why he left the thinking to Hawkmon and the others. It was boring, and made him hungry. What was the point of doing things that made you hungrier than you already were? He grumbled to himself and landed on a tree, climbing the rest of the way. He guessed it was a good thing nighttime in this place meant things were quiet like it did in their world. On the downside, that meant their explosion had been _super loud_ both times. Whoops. Oh well, just time to roll with it.

His stomach rumbled and he hopped down, ignoring startled gasps and shouts. He wasn't sure why they were all fussing about him. He hadn't eaten much in years but they couldn't see his ribs so what was the big deal?

This was going to be a long visit to the human world, huh? Probably would first have to focus on getting the kid to stop screaming or something.

" _Man_ ," he said, loud enough for people to jump. "We broke out of jail for this?"

It almost didn't seem worth it.

Dracomon yawned wide enough to make the few remaining people shriek, and jumped into the air again, flying as fast as his small wings could let him. Behind him came that weird wailing noise again. Welp. That sounded stupid.

He banked right and let the wind carry him wherever it wanted to. Hopefully it was towards some food.

* * *

The resounding thump of Sean's head against the arm of the couch caused Norio to look up (which wasn't hard, this was math) from his homework. "Senpai did you tryin thinkin' again?"

"Oh I stopped doing that when I met you." Sean picked up his phone from the floor. "I got a text from Meli. She needs me to get the parents some coffee beans, her study session is running over."

Norio snorted with laughter. "Your parents are pretty bad without coffee, yeah? You gonna fly then?"

Sean stretched. "Suppose i gotta. You ain't been around my mom when she decks mugs into a wall for target practice. I mean, all of them were ugly but still."

"She could have donated them," Kiriko noted with a giggle. "Every time I hear something new about your family, it's always entertaining." She rolled off of the other side of the couch. "I should head back too. Ruka's parents get worried when I'm out too late." At the two boys' groans of exasperation, she laughed again. "they just care, that's all." She smiled at Sean. "Walk with me part of the way?"

"Do I look like a prince in shining armor to you?" he joked, but he was already getting up. "Sorry Nori. Wish I could help with that algorithm crap."

Norio waved him off, ignoring the pit of jealousy in his throat. "Eh, it's gettin' late. I'll bumrush it tomorrow."

Sean sniggered. "Don't man. I don't want to drag your crying carcass out of bed tomorrow."

Norio pouted all the way to the doorway, shouting protests and laughing. Okay, sure, he wasn't with the girl he liked, and yeah, they tended to kiss in his house because they forgot he lived there, but it wasn't all bad. They and their friends and family included him and his wherever and whenever. Who knew? Maybe Kiriko and Sean would drift like in all those sappy romance anime he hid behind his video games? He could hope! Well, no, he couldn't. That wasn't cool.

On the apartment balcony, the three of them caught a glimpse of sirens and distant smoke. "What, did someone decide tonight was a good night to set bars on fire?" Sean said to nobody in particular.

The other two snorted. "I don't think they'd send quite as many police out for that." Kiri said this while flicking the other boy's auburn locks.

He huffed. "Well, maybe someone's holding up a bank. I dunno."

"I don't know which of you has the bigger imagination," Kiriko deadpanned.

Norio waved his arms, pretending to be hurt. "Kiri-nee, don't compare me to that lumpy dude."

"I'll have you know this is _muscle_." Sean stretched as if to prove it. "I do exercises every day."

Kiri snorted in his ear. "We know." She tugged his arm. "Come on, let's let Nori-kun go inside." She winked at the other boy, and his face flamed. "We'll see you on Monday."

"Bye!" He leaned against the balcony, making sure they got down the stairs okay. He was a little paranoid all right?

As Kiri turned away, she suddenly paused, eyes going wide. "Nori-kun!"

Norio blinked and made to turn around… facing a somewhat large green dragon.

"I'm hungry," it drawled. "Got any food?"

* * *

A/N: SURPRISE. Bet you thought you'd never see this again! Well, it's back and still kicking! Admittedly it will be a slow go as I have to finish Ours and so many other things but this has been in my compuer being stubborn so I figured I'd just make myself finish this chapter. And I did! So please enjoy the continued adventures of Norio and friends!


End file.
